The current study investigated a set of abilities collectively referred to as executive function (EF). Substantial improvement in EF ability occurs between 3 and 6 years of age (e.g., Carlson [2005] Developmental Neuropsychology, 28(2):595–616). This improvement is thought to reflect changes in brain development, especially in areas of prefrontal cortex and frontal cortex, which occur during this time period (e.g., Luu & Posner [2003] Brain 126:2119–2120). Little work has examined preschoolers' cortical activity during EF tasks, despite the frequent use of performance on such tasks as indirect measures of (pre)frontal functioning. The current study measured continuous EEG activity in 104 preschool aged children as they completed a battery of EF tasks. Changes from baseline to task performance in EEG activity (power, coherence) were used as predictors of EF ability. Results indicated that changes from baseline to task engagement in EEG coherence, but not EEG power, were significantly related to performance on the EF battery in our sample. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 53:771–784, 2011.
VL - 53 UR - http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/dev.v53.8http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/dev.20588 IS - 8 JO - Dev. Psychobiol. ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Salivary Cortisol Mediates Effects of Poverty and Parenting on Executive Functions in Early Childhood JF - Child Development Y1 - 2011 A1 - Clancy Blair A1 - Granger, Douglas A. A1 - Michael T. Willoughby A1 - Mills-Koonce, Roger A1 - Cox, Martha A1 - Mark T. Greenberg A1 - Kivlighan, Katie T. A1 - Fortunato, Christine K. AB -In a predominantly low-income population-based longitudinal sample of 1,292 children followed from birth, higher level of salivary cortisol assessed at ages 7, 15, and 24 months was uniquely associated with lower executive function ability and to a lesser extent IQ at age 3 years. Measures of positive and negative aspects of parenting and household risk were also uniquely related to both executive functions and IQ. The effect of positive parenting on executive functions was partially mediated through cortisol. Typical or resting level of cortisol was increased in African American relative to White participants. In combination with positive and negative parenting and household risk, cortisol mediated effects of income-to-need, maternal education, and African American ethnicity on child cognitive ability.
VL - 82 UR - http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/cdev.2011.82.issue-6http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01643.x IS - 6 ER -